December presentation to faculty & staff regarding LinkedIn

1. Getting ‘LinkedIn’ Online Networking Workshop

2. About LinkedIn “Throughout 2008, social networking sites and blogs saw more time spent by users than personal e-mail.” - Nielsen Online Founded in 2003 – professional social media Members from over 200 countries Executives from every Fortune 500 company have profiles Over 400,000 groups LinkedIn has a network of over 52 MILLION professionals LinkedIn profiles are often one of the first searches in a Google search

3. Your Profile Allows you to maintain and separate ‘work life’ & ‘personal life’ A complete profile is 40X more likely to be seen Never include anything you wouldn’t want printed on the cover of the New York Times Tell your story – 1st impressions are critical Have a strong ‘title’ and summary Include keywords/specialties Ensure you have a professional photo

4. Your Profile Include volunteer and other activities Keep your profile current! Obtain recommendations (1/position held) Claim your LinkedIn url – add a ‘public profile’ Create your profile in additional languages if applicable Include website links to research or professional blogs Update your ‘Opportunity Preferences’

5. Groups, Applications, Blogs, Articles… Applications allow you to post portions of blog posts you’ve written to your page Amazon reading lists allow visitors to review your current interests Add presentations via slide share Sole purpose of these items is to connect with and assist one another Groups provide more connections & discussion; campus alumni groups are especially popular!

6. More about Groups Groups have sections for Discussions, Job Postings, Event Announcements, News Dissemination, and more Provide additional communication vehicle to members Enable further research on group members and help build brand Update settings to receive digests, etc.

7. Making Connections Join groups that are related to your field, your university, etc. Connect with people you already know – family, friends, family friends, professors, former classmates, colleagues, alumni/ae Watch the connections your links make…chances are, you know them as well (but don’t spam!!) Do be careful about who you add as connections Introductions can be difficult if you don’t actually know someone or have a ‘relationship’ with them

8. Creating Connections Determine what information you are seeking Prepare list of questions and introductory email Include Illinois connection! Find out more about your potential connection and review his/her profile If someone ‘introduces’ you, copy them on emails Request advice/guidance-not jobs/donations/etc. Trends in their industry General feedback or information Recommendations of others with whom to connect

9. Maintaining Connections Request (& give) recommendations Illustrate achievements Project credibility Never share others’ personal information with colleagues unless you have permission to do so Ask for telephone connection: 15-20 minutes Always follow-up with thank you emails/notes! Keep your contacts/connections informed

10. Job Search Feature Utilize the ‘Find a Job’ feature to search for actual positions Join groups and check out their ‘Jobs’ tabs When you join groups, sign up to receive the ‘feed’ Students graduating this year can get a free premium account (http://grads.linkedin.com/)

11. Finding/Giving ‘Answers’ ‘Answer’ questions as applicable – if you get a ‘good answer’ mark, you are seen as an expert Post questions that you may have, but remember that millions of people have access to what you write Write answers/questions in Word and use spell- and grammar-check and then cut & paste into LinkedIn

12. Researching Companies Find information on companies in a specific geographic location Look for related companies and ‘popular’ profiles Review ‘before’ and ‘after’ career paths Read ‘News’ about the company Check out a company’s ‘new hires’

13. Career Services Council For Employers: http://www.hireillini.illinois.edu/ For Students: http://www.careerservices.illinois.edu/ For questions about this presentation, please contact Patricia Simpson: plblum@illinois.edu or Katie Flint: kflint2@illinois.edu